Golf game



March 27, 1928. 1,663,889

C. A. ROLFE GOLF GAME Filed Oct. 20. 1925 Sgam,

,In a' enfar har/Kaj. Fay@ Mor/ffy Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

CHARLES A. ROLFE, OF REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA.

GOLF GAME.

Application filed October 20, 1925. Serial No. 63,626.

This invention relates generally to game apparatus, and is moreparticularly concerned with devices for trapping balls and similarobjects of play.

The invention is particularly well adapted for embodiment in a devicefor entrapping golf balls, thus being available for use in practicingputting strokes, though it is not in any way limited to this specificembodiment. As well as providing a practice field, the playing table maybe marked off in zones having diiierentnumerical values so competitivegames may be played thereon.

The device is of that type wherein the ball trap is positioned on top ofa base or playing table in contra-distinction to the type wherein thetable or playing surface is cut through to provide a trapping hole. Theadvantage of the first mentioned type over the second are obvious andneed not be discussed in detail here, though it may be emphasized thatthe actual conditions of a golf course may be more nearly had by reasonof the playing surface being horizontal rather than inclined, theinclination being necessary to the second mentioned type of device sincetheV cup mouth must be elevated in order to accommodate the ball beneaththe playing surface when it is driven into the cup.

However, the usual device of the horizontal playing surface type, hasthe disadvantage that there is no provision for returning the trappedball to the player without the latter leaving his playing position andstooping toremove the ball from the trap. The disadvantages of such acondition are self-evident. and it is one of the principal objects ofthe present invention to provide a device which shall have all theadvantages of the horizontal playing surface and yet so arranged thatthe ball may be released from the trap and retrieved by the player athis position of play.

Another novel and highly advantageous feature of the present inventionlies in the provision of means whereby the tr'ap is adaptedautomatically to release the ball when it is driven thereinto with suchforce that it would over-run the hole of a natural putting green. Howthis is done may be pointed out to better advantage in the followingdetailed description, in which other novel features and objects will bemade apparent. Reference vwill be had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

`as a base member upon which is supported a ball trap, the base memberhere being shown as a playing surface and the trap being in the natureof an inverted cup having entrance gates for the admission of ballsthereto, the trap being bodily movable to release position. However, itwill be .understood that the invention, considered in its broaderaspects, is not limited to a base having the characteristics shown, norneed the ball trap release operate in the precise manner described.

Furthermore, the feature of automatic release when the ball is driveninto the trap with predetermined force, ma be incorporated in a devicehaving a dilierent type of base and a different type of trap withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of certain of my broad claims; whilethe tiltable arrangement of the playing-table and means for tilting itare the subject-matter of other claims which are not limited to a balltrap of any particular nature.

In the drawings, numeral 10 designates generally a base which, in thepreferred embodiment of the invention, comprises a playing table orsurface, adapted to lie in a horizontal position on the ground or on afloor, preferably carpeted. The base is made up ot a sheet or plate 1lhaving marginal [langes 12 on its sides and back, while its forward edge13 contacts with the supporting surface so the ball may be rolled ontothe table from a playing position outside the boundaries of the device.Base 11 may be made of metal, wood, fiber, composition or any othersuitable and desirable material.

Preferably, though not necessarily, I provide gripping means on the basenear edge 13. For instance, down-turned points or prongs 14 may beclamped within the ends of finishing beads or rolls 15 provided at theupperl edges of side flanges 12. These points extend below the lowerface of plate 11 and are adapted to bite into the carpet C or groundupon which the device rests and are for a purpose to be later madeevident.

Preferably, though not necessarily, plate 11 is covered with fabric 16,felt, for 'instance, to give a frictional playing surface approximatelyequivalent to that of a put` tinggreen, and the forward, free ledge 17of the fabric preferably extends beyond edge 13 and is adapted to lieonrthe supporting surface so the ball may moren readily roll onto 'theplaying surface of the device from the supporting surface.

In order that competitive games may be played on ther device, Iv'inaymark offzones on the fabric, giving each Zone a numerical value byindicia 18, the Zone 19 of highest value beingthat immediatelyunderlying trap T. f v

Trap T is in the natureV of an inverted cup,vrv and Whiley it lieswithin the scoperofv my invention, considered .in' its' broader.aspects, to provide a solidtcup with a ,suit-pl able entrance gate, Iprefer'to make it of the skeleton nature illustrated.

An upright support or'standard 20 has an angle Vfoot 21 secured to plate11 at 22,V and "an extension arm 23 which inclines upwardlyY from thehorizontal. Hinged to arm 23 by loop -24 (Fig. 6) or any other suitablemeans, is-:a plate or ring 25 having a depending annular flange 26 which'may be serrated orv scalloped at 27 to give it a pleasing appearportedso as to swing inwardly, only, in the manner hereinafter describediniconnection with' gate members 30,' or theyinay be fixed againstmovement, as illustrated. A con` venient method of attaching thependants is to bend their upperv ends 31 into loops or eyes,l and passthe Aeyes through suitable' apertures 32 in ring 25Vand apertures 33 inflange 26, thus bringing the shanks of the pendants to the inside oftheflange which 'is bent outwardly to provide receiving channels 34. Bythen soldering over the channel mouths at 35, the pendants are held frommovement with respect to plate 25 and its flange.

VGate members or pendants 30, atthe front of the compartment and,preferably arranged substantially diametrically opposite support 20,have eyes 36 whichare looped through plate and flange in ainannersimilar to that described in connection with pendants 28, their shanks37 abutting the inner wall of the flange, as clearly illustrated in Fig.4, to

prevent the gates from swinging outwardly,

Ybe knotted at 41 therebeneath.y passes upwardy Vthrough aperture 42 inare preferably enough. to spread over suchv l an angularextent thattheywilll admit any ball to compartment 29 that would pass into the cupof a usual golf hole were thesamei putting stroke to be made, whilesuchballs as Wouldrim7 the cup of a usual golf1 hole will strike thestationary pendants adjacent' the gate members'in a manner to bedeflected vfrom the trap, thus'producing an. effect requivalentto.rimming'the cup. f

Any of the/ pendants which are adapted to swing Ainwardly may ybeconsidered as movable closures for gateways opening to compartment 29.For instance, gate'meiii'- bers 30 may be considered as closures forkgateway G which is defined by the immediately adjacent pendants 28.- Itwill be seen these gate members are movable to and from soVgateway-closing position when the trap,

proper, is in ball-confining position.

' A release ori operatingmember, preferably in the form of a-cord 38,Iis secured to the center of the spider portion 39 of plate 25. Forinstance, the cord mayV be passed through an aperture 40 in the spiderand The cord arm23 andfthence through aperture 43 in the rear flange12"L of the base. The' free Vend I of the cord may be Wrapped aboutbobbin 44 for convenience in handling Aand storage.

In operation, the table is laid flat on the carpet and the operatortakes his place at the right of the table, as viewed in theseveralgfigures,tlie ball being placed on the carpet or table at anydesired distance from the trap. The putting stroke is then made and ifthe ball strikes gate Amembers 30 they will swing inwardly to admit theball to conipartment 29. If the balls are driven with such force thatthey would over-run an ordinary golf coursehole, they will strikestandard 2O (which may be considered a back-stop) or one `of therearward pendants 28 and rebound against the gate members with sulicientforce to swing plate 25 and its associated parts upwardly about itshingeV connection 24, thus lifting gate mem- -bers 30 sufliciently torelease the ball from the trap. In other words, theball is automaticallyreleased from the trap by virtue of pressure of predeterminedstrengthdirected outwardlyby a ball Within thecup.

The angular movement` of the trap is so limited by arm 23 that gatemembers 30 must be considerably shorter than pendants 28 in order toallow the ball to pass outwardly, and, of course, the shorter the gatemembers are, the more easily does the trap release when the ballrebounds. They may be varied in length to suit individual needs.However, it will be understood my invention is not limited to anembodiment wherein the gate members are shorter than the pendants, forsuch need not be the case where the trap is capable of sufiicientangular or tilting movement to release the ball.

Assuming that the ball has been cntrappcd, the player pulls on cord38'which pull first swings the trap upwardly about hinge 24 to releaseposition against arm 23, and then tilts the entire device upwardly andforwardly about edge 13, gripping means 14 engaging the supportingsurface to insure that the device tilts rather 4than slides towards theplayer. The inclination of the table causes the ball to roll from thetrap beneath gate members 30 and towards the player into a position forre-play.

Cord 38 may thus be considered as remote control means both for movingthe gate o'r trap to release position and for tilting the base to returnthe ball.

If the ball is not trapped but remains on the playing table, lit issimilarly returned to the player by inclining the table throughoperation of cord 38.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a device having all theadvantages of a flat playing table and yet so arranged that the ball maybe returned to the pla-yer without change of stance or position, and inaddition have provided an elevated type of trap which will eject suchballs as would overrun or rim an ordinary hole cup, results which so faras I am aware, have not been `obtained heretofore.

It will be understood the drawings and description are to be consideredmerely as illustrative of and not retrictive on the broader claimsappended hereto, for various changes in design, structure andarrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope ofsaid claims.

I claim:

l. A ball trap embodying a support, a bodilyT movable enclosure on thesupport, a gate for said enclosure, said gate being normally in ballconfining position and being movable with respect to the enclosure toadmit' balls thereto and the enclosure being movable bodilyT to move thegate to ballreleasing position by virtue of pressure of predeterminedstrength directed outwardly by a ball within the enclosure.

Q. In game apparatus, a base member, a ball trap tiltably supported onthe base and movable tiltably to and from ball-confining position, saidtrap normally being in ballconfining position and having an entrancegateway, and gate member movable to and from a position closing saidgateway when thetrap is in ball-confining position.

3. In game apparatus, a base member, a ball trap tiltably supported onthe base and movable tiltably to and from ball-confining position, saidtrap normally being in ballconfining position, an entrance gate for thetrap, and means for tilting the trap out of ball-confining position.

et. In game apparatus, a tiltable base member, a ball trap supported onthe base, said trap having members which are movable inwardly only toadmit the ball thereto, said trap being mounted on the bas-e for bodilymovement in a manner to release the ball herefrom, and common manuallyoperated means for bodily moving the trap to release the ball and totilt the base member so the ball will roll therefrom.

5. In game apparatus, a substantially rectangular' base having a forwardedge adapted to Contact with a floor or the like, a ball trap on thebase at a point spaced from the forward edge thereof, floor grippingprongs on the base near said forward edge, and means applied to saidbase at a point removed from said forward edge whereby the base isadapted to be tilted upwardly and forwardly about said gripping means.

G. In game apparatus, a base, an upright supporting member on the base,an elevated plate hingedly connected to said support, means adaptednormally to hold said plate substantially horizontal, and meansdepending from said plate and adapted to define a ball trapping chambertherebeneath, said depending' means having inwardly opening entrancegates whereby the ball isadmitted to said compartment, the plate beinghingedly movable to raise said depending means and thereby allow theball to be released from the compartment.

7. In game apparatus, a base, an upright supporting member on the base,an elevated plate hingedly connected to said support, meansadaptednormally to hold said plate substantially horizontal, means dependingfrom said plate and adapted to define a ball trapping chambertherebeneath, said depending means having inwardly opening entrancegates whereby the ball is admitted to said compartment, the plate beinghingedly movable to raise said depending means and thereby allow theball to be released from the compartment; and manually operated meansfor hingedly moving said plate.

8. In game apparatus, a base, an upright supporting member on the base,an elevated plate hingedly connected to said support, means adaptednormally to hold said plate substantially horizontal, means dependingfrom said plate and adapted to define a ball Vil() trapping chambertherebeneatli, said depending means. having inwardly opening entrancegates whereby the ball is admitted to said compartment, the plate beinghingedly movable to raise said depending means and thereby allow theball to be released from the compartment; an arm overlying and spaced'from the. plate, and an operating member applied to said plate andextending through said arm whereby a pull exerted on said operatingmember hingedly moves admitted to said compartment, the plate beinghingedly movable to raise said depend- "f ling means and thereby allowthe ball. to be released from the compartment; an arm overlying andspaced from the plate, said arm being rigidly supported by the base, andan operating member applied to said plate, extending through said armand applied to the base in a manner whereby a pull exerted on saidoperating member hingedl),T moves said plate upwardly and into contactwith said arm and a continued pull tilts the base.

10. In game apparatus, a base, an upright'supporting member on the base,an elevated plate hingedly connected .to vsaid support, means adaptednormally to hold said plate substantially horizontal, means dependingfrom said plate and adapted to define a ball trapping chambertherebeneath, said depending means having inwardly opening entrancegates whereby the ball is admitted to said compartment, the plate beinghingedly movable to raise said de- 'pendingvnieans and thereby allow theball to be released from the compartment; an arm overlying and spacedfrom' the plate, and an operating member applied to said plate andextending through said arm whereby a pull exerted on said operatingmember hingedly moves said plate upwardly and into contact with saidarm.

11. In game apparatus, a tiltable base, n upright supporting member onthe base, an elevated plate hingedly connected to said support, meansadapted normally to holdy said plate substantially horizontal, meansde-` pending from said plate and adapted to de tine a ball trappingchamber therebeneath, said depending means having inwardly openingentrance gates whereby the ball is admitted to said compartment, theplate being hingedly movable `to raise said `depending means and therebyallow lthe ball to be released rom the compartment; an arm overlying andspaced from the plate, saidy arm being rigidly supported by t-he base,and an operating member applied to said plate, extending through saidarmi and ap- A plied to the base in a manner whereby a pull exerted onsaid operating member hingedly moves said plate upwardly and introcontact `with said arm and a continued pull ,tilts the member, and aplurality ofspendants on they Y plate and adapted to deine a ballentrapping compartment, certain of said pendants; at n the front oftheicompartment being free to swing inwardly, only, to admit a ball to'said compartment, andV the remaining\pendants in the front beingrigidlyfixed to the plate;

13. In a game apparatus, a base member, a support member on the base,-aplatenormally maintained in elevated and substanss. A

tially horizontal position on the support member, and a plurality ofpendants on the plate and adapted to define a ball entrappingcompartment, certain of said pendants at the front of the compartmentbeing tree to swing inwardly, only, to admit a ball to said compartment,and the remaining pendants in the front being rigidly fixed to theplate; said swinging pendants' being ar.

ranged substantially diametrically opposite the support member.

14. In a ball trap, a base member, a plate normally supported inelevated and normally horizontal position above the base member, meansdepending from the plate and adapted to deline a ball entrappingcompartment, gate members depending from the plate and adapted to moveinwardly, to admit a ball to said compartment, and a baclr-stop withinsaid compartment and al1-- ranged substantially diametrically oppositethe gate members and adapted positively .to l

prevent balls rolling therepast, said `gate members being also movableto ball-releasing position by virtue of balls rebounding thereagainstfrom the back stop.

15. In game apparatus, a base plate adapted normally to liehorizont-ally on a floor or the like, upstanding flanges on only certainedges of the plate, a ball trap on the base at a point spaced from anunflanged edge of the plate, and remotecontrol means applied to the baseplate at a point removed from said unflanged edge and adapted to'bemanually operated to tilt the plate on the floor about said untlangededge.` l

16. In game apparatus, a base adapted normally to lie substantiallyflatly on the floor, a ball trap on the base at a point spaced from oneof its edges, said base being freely tilt-able upwardly and forwardlyabout said edge, and remote control means applied to the base for sotilting it.

17. In game apparatus, a tiltable base member, a ball trapping enclosureon the base member, a gate for said enclosure, said gate being movablewith respect to the base both to admit balls to the enclosure and thento ball-releasing position, and common manually operated means formoving the gate to ball-releasing position and for tilting the basemember so the released ball is adapted to roll therefrom.

18. In game apparatus, a supporting member, a ball trapping enclosure onthe support-- ing member, a. gate for said enclosure, said gate beingmovable both to admit balls tothe enclosure and then to ball-releasingposition, and remote control means for moving the gate to ball-releasingposition.

19. A ball trap embodying a support, a bodily movable enclosure on thesupport, a gate for said enclosure, said gate being movable with respectto the enclosure to admit balls thereto and then being movable toballconfining position; the enclosure being' movable bodily to move thegate to ball-releasing position by virtue of pressure of predeterminedstrength directed outwardly by a ball within the enclosure.

20. A ball trap embodying an enclosure, a gate for the enclosure andmovable to admit a ball thereto and then being movable to a ball-conningposition; and a back stop arranged substantially in line with the gatewhereby it lies in the path of the entering ball to cause rebound of theball towards said gate, said gate being movable to ballreleasingposition by Virtue of pressure of predetermined strength directedoutwardly by the rebounding ball.

21. In game apparatus, an upright supporting member, a plate hingedlyconnected to said support and normally held substantially at a givenelevation, and means depending from said plate and adapted to define aball trapping chamber therebeneath, said depending means having inwardlyopening entrance gates whereby the ball is admitted to said compartment,the plate being hingedly movable to raise said depending means therebyallow the ball to be released from the compartment.

22. In game apparatus, an upright supporting member, a plate hingedlyconnected to said support and normally held substantially at a givenelevation, means depending from said plate and adapted to define a balltrapping chamber therebeneath, said depending means having inwardlyopening entrance gates whereby the ball is admitted to said compartment,the plate being hingedly movable to raise said depending means andthereby allow the ball to be released from the compartment; and manuallyoperated means for hingedly moving said plate.

23. In game apparatus, a tilt-able base, an upright supporting member onthe base, an elevated plate hingedly connected to said support andnormally held substantially at a given elevation, means depending fromsaid plate and adapted to define a ball trapping chamber therebeneath,said depending means having inwardly opening entrance gates whereby theball is admitted to said compartment, the plate being liingedly movableto raise said depending means and thereby allow the ball to be releasedfrom the compartment; an arm overlying and spaced from the plate, saidarm being rigidly supported by the base, and an operating member appliedto said plate, extending through said arm and applied to the base in amanner whereby a pull exerted on said operating member hingedly movessaid plate upwardly and into Contact with said arm and a continued pulltilts the base.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 24th day ot Sept., 1925.

CHARLES A. ROLFE.

